Morsi urges ironing out differences over draft constitution

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi on Wednesday urged summing up the main sticking points in the draft constitution as a prelude to reaching a consensus among the political forces. During his meeting with representatives of the political forces, trade unions and universities, the President highlighted the need for an early end to the transitional period, Presidential Spokesman Dr. Yasser Ali told reporters after the meeting. "The President said he follows up the efforts being made by the Constituent Assembly to develop the country's new constitution; he welcomes as healthy the different views on the draft constitution," the spokesman pointed out. "The President sees that there is a need to summarize the disputable articles of the constitution and hold dial Save ogue specifically on them in order to finalize the constitution as early as possible. "It's important for the country to have a new constitution in order to end the transitional stage, restore stability and revive foreign direct investment, " Dr. Ali quoted the President as saying. The members of the audience raised suggestions to the President and agreed on the need to step up the development of the new constitution and passing it through a public referendum, he went on. The two sides agreed to convene a new round of the dialogue soon after the Eid Al-Adha holiday. The President will also host a similar dialogue with representatives of the different political forces on a new election law in order to set the stage for fresh parliamentary elections which will be the next step after the endorsement of the constitution. The ruling of the administrative court on Tuesday to refer to the constitutional court the appeals against the legitimacy of the Constituent Assembly is unlikely to affect the work of the assembly, Dr. Ali added.